


Open Doors

by prettypaladinss



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Dancing, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Post-Season/Series 05, Reunions, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-04-26 10:56:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14400684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettypaladinss/pseuds/prettypaladinss
Summary: Having found inner peace by finding his mom, Keith returns to Team Voltron. Lance didn't realize how much he had missed his other half until he returns. The two bond further and tackle all of their unspoken issues together. Eventually, Team Voltron takes a trip to Earth, and because Keith doesn't have a family to go home to, Lance invites him to go to Cuba with him. Lots of fluff and good talks.





	1. An Overdue Reunion

Lance was dashing down the corridor to the docking bay, jacket abandoned, short hair flying. 

Keith was back. Keith was back. He couldn’t believe it. 

Everyone had been in different parts of the castle when Allura called them all to the bridge. Lance himself had been alone on the training deck. He figured Hunk, Pidge, and Matt were off doing some nerdy tech stuff. Together. Lance was genuinely happy that his friends were happy, but he couldn’t deny that he had been feeling left out lately. 

Anyways, on the deck, everyone was delighted to see Keith’s face projected on the main screen. 

“Permission to board, Princess?” Keith asked with a smirk. 

“Of course, Keith! We’ll see you in a minute,” the princess replied. 

After the screen closed out, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge turned to each other, their bright eyes reflecting each others’. Lance was the first to dash out the door. 

Now here he was, slipping through the automated door to the bay. As soon as he stopped, he hunched over to catch his breath, not realizing how fast his heart was pounding. 

Keith’s Blade ship was already docked. It let out a puff of steam and a ramp lowered to the floor. Things almost moved in slow motion for Lance. Keith descended the ramp in his blade uniform, a tall Galra woman behind him. Keith’s face was stern as usual, but when his soft purple eyes met Lance’s, an uncharacteristic grin spread across his face. 

Lance held back any inhibitions and nearly tackled Keith into a hug. He wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders, incidentally pressing his brow to Keith’s forehead. Keith’s arms froze at his sides before wrapping around Lance’s torso. He chuckled into Lance’s shoulder, saying, “I missed you too, buddy.” 

Lance pulled back, holding Keith by his shoulders to get a good look at him. How had he not noticed? There was a purple scar-like mark on Keith’s right cheek. 

“What’s this?” he asked.

Keith smiled and lifted his hand up to touch his scar. “Oh this? Some sort of Galra mark I got a couple nights ago. My mom says it’s a sign of self-acceptance.” 

Lance’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, mom?”

Keith shifted out of Lance’s embrace and gestured to the Galra woman behind him, who had been watching the two with a rather stern expression.

“Lance, this is my mom, Krolia. She’s been with the Blade for a while and I finally met her,” Keith explained. 

Lance suddenly felt bashful. He had ran to hug his friend before even acknowledging the other person. He held out his hand to Krolia and said, “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” 

Krolia took his hand and shook it firmly. Lance noticed how much Keith looked like his mom. Their eye shape and color was the same, and Krolia’s markings looked like Keith’s. 

“I’m Lance,” he said, letting go of her hand.

Krolia nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Keith flinched and turned to Krolia. “Mom!” 

“Oh really? What have you been saying about me, samurai?” Lance teased Keith. 

Before Keith could answer, the rest of the team burst through the door. They all crowded around Keith, exchanging hugs and smiles. 

“Welcome back Keith,” Shiro said firmly. The two exchanged a friendly handshake and a nod. Lance secretly wondered why Shiro didn’t seem particularly excited to see Keith. The two were arguably the closest on the team, almost like brothers. Lance quickly blamed it on Shiro’s stress. 

Keith introduced his mom to the rest of them.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Krolia,” Allura said. “We all know how Keith has been wanting to find you for a long time.” 

Krolia turned to her son with a small frown. “It’s been a long journey,” she began. “But at least we’re together now.” 

The team ushered Keith and his mom into the lounge, berating them with questions all the way. Lance was separated from Keith by the very inquisitive Holt siblings, but he caught his eye from time to time.

***

After the excitement died down, Shiro decided they should all call it a night. Something that was always odd about being in space was that there really was no day or night. The paladins ran on their on clocks. It was one more thing that made Lance miss Earth.

Allura showed Krolia to a spare bedroom (near her son’s, as she insisted). Everyone said goodnight to each other and slipped into their rooms. 

Lance got into his pajamas and lay in his bed, trying to relax. His mind was still racing. It was no secret that things had been troubling him lately. Shiro wasn’t feeling like himself. Allura was occupied with Lotor. Lance was feeling more homesick and alone than ever. And now the only person in whom he had confided his self-doubt in was back. 

Lance scrunched up his face and groaned. He definitely wasn’t getting to sleep for a while. Lance got up and wandered out into the hallway, figuring he’d go onto the deck to watch the stars. 

Earth is still so far away, he thought to himself. Lance had always loved stargazing, but lately it just made him miss home. He couldn't think of anything better to do though.

When the automatic door opened to the deck, Lance was surprised to see a dark-clothed figure sitting on one of the steps. 

“Keith?” 

Keith jumped and turned to look back at Lance. 

“Oh Lance. You scared me,” he said. Keith was back in his black shirt and pants, knife perpetually in its holster on his belt. And he was wearing those stupid fingerless gloves.

“Sorry,” Lance muttered. Why was he finding it so hard to look Keith in the eyes? “Mind if I join you?” 

“Can’t sleep?” Keith asked. 

“Yeah,” Lance said, taking a seat to Keith’s right. The two took a moment to look at the stars. Keith leaned back to rest on his palms while Lance rested his elbows on his knees. 

“You alright?” Keith asked. 

Lance sighed before replying. He could sense Keith’s violet eyes on him, worried. 

“Yeah, there’s just been a lot going on lately.” 

Keith’s head tilted to the side, like it always did when he was curious. Lance found it rather cute, but he would never admit it.

Keith leaned in slightly closer to Lance. “Tell me,” he said. 

Lance let out a breath and lowered his head. He then turned to Keith. 

“You’re not going to like hearing this but...I think there’s something up with Shiro. He told me the other day that he’s not feeling like himself.” 

Keith’s eyes softened. Lance recognized the look and found it hard to make direct eye contact with him. 

“And he yelled at me the other day. I mean he apologized and everything but it was just so...sudden,” Lance finished. 

Keith’s eyebrows curved downwards. It was clear that he found this news troubling. 

“He’s been through a lot, not just lately but in general. I wonder if something happened when he disappeared that second time,” Keith started rambling. His voice lowered. “It’s such a little thing but...no it’s stupid,” He chuckled weakly to himself. 

Lance dipped his head down, trying to catch Keith’s eyes. 

“No, go on,” he encouraged. 

Keith looked up at Lance before nodding. “Okay…” he started. “I was really expecting him to be happy I was back. I mean he might’ve been but like, it’s hard to explain. His eyes were dull and, I thought maybe he’d hug me. Sorry it sounds stupid.” 

Keith leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. 

“No, Keith your instincts are totally valid,” Lance reassured. “If I’ve learned anything from being your teammate it’s that I should trust your instincts, and I do.” 

Lance internally screamed at the cute, soft look Keith gave him. 

“And I mean, Allura’s noticed it too,” Lance rambled on. “I was hoping with you back things would get better. 

Keith chuckled and folded his knees in, below his chin. 

“I’m not sure what I could do,” he muttered. 

Lance put a hand on Keith’s shoulder, feeling him jump at the touch. It’s so sad he’s still not used to being touched, Lance thought to himself. 

“Keith, listen to me. You’re part of the team. We’re not the same without you. If you…” he trailed off. 

His hand fell from Keith’s shoulder. He could tell that he and Keith were thinking of the same moment. Keith’s near self-sacrifice had shocked the whole team. After it, they all wanted him to come back to the team, come back home, but they weren’t sure how to tell him, especially since he seemed to be such an integral part of the Blade of Marmora now. 

Lance had been affected more than he anticipated. It was at that terrifying moment when Matt delivered the news that he realized he couldn’t live without Keith, his rival turned best friend turned reassurance, turned whatever they were. He couldn’t believe that Keith would value some mission over his own life. 

“Why did you do it?” Lance said, voice reduced nearly to a whisper now. 

Keith’s arms tightened around his knees. Lance wanted to reach over and release the tension in his body, put him at ease, but he held back. 

“I...was doing what I thought was best for the mission, for the team,” Keith explained.

“But Keith, you don’t understand. I know the Blade has been teaching you all these things about putting the mission first and setting your feelings aside, but I-we don’t want you to do that. You matter so much and I don’t want you to forget that.” 

Lance let all the words fall out of his mouth, almost everything he’s been wanting to say to Keith for weeks now. Almost everything. 

A delicate smile spread across Keith’s face. He unfolded his knees and turned back to Lance, eyes glassy. 

“I know Lance,” he said. 

Lance relaxed a little with those words. Keith leaned a little closer and stared down at his fingers.

“Just being here with you, and the team...it’s reminded me that I actually found people who care about me for once, I found a family out here. You know I never had one on Earth,” Keith said. 

That last point struck a chord with Lance. It was his turn to look away. 

“Lance…? Oh shoot I’m sorry,” Keith said quickly. He bit his lip and stared down at his feet. 

His voice softened. “You’re thinking about your family aren’t you?” 

“Yeah…” Lance said. 

Keith kept his eyes on Lance, wishing he knew the right thing to say. 

“I just...I just miss them so much and it seems like no one cares. Like, when we recorded messages for our families Hunk just teased me about an old crush I had. I mean, I’m sure he cares but...sometimes they just forget about my feelings,” Lance confessed. 

“Lance…” Keith murmured.

That was enough to make Lance turn back to Keith, built-up pain clearly showing on his face, on his quivering lips, soft eyes, curved eyebrows. It was such a foreign look to Keith, as he usually associated a bright smile and lit-up eyes with Lance. 

“Lance I’m sure your family misses you. A lot. And the team cares. I’m sorry if they’ve been neglecting you lately,” Keith said. 

Lance gave Keith a lopsided smile. 

“You just have to hold on,” Keith finished. 

Lance nodded. He nearly jumped when he felt Keith’s gloved hand on his back. Keith rubbed the tension in Lance’s spine away and Lance leaned into the touch, smiling softly. He closed his eyes. 

When he opened them he found Keith’s eyes staring right into his. Keith stopped moving his hand and let it settle on Lance’s shoulder. 

They stayed like that, staring at each other for a moment, before Keith’s cheeks turned pink and he dropped his gaze. 

“Hey Lance...do you wanna like, sleep together tonight?” he asked. 

They both froze, realizing how that sounded. 

“Not like that! I mean, just sleeping in the same room. I feel like we both need it,” he quickly added. 

What did he mean by that? Lance thought to himself. They both need what? Lance decided to put it to the side and just so with it. 

He smiled at Keith and said, “Yeah. But I’m not sleeping on the floor.” 

Keith smirked back and slipped his hand off Lance’s back. They both got up and started heading for the doors. As the automatic doors slid open, Lance walked a little ahead of Keith and looked back, holding out his hand. Keith took it with a smile and the pair casually walked down the hall, to the bedroom corridor. 

Lance’s heart was pounding and he hoped his hand wasn’t sweaty or anything. He unconsciously thumbed the leather of Keith’s gloves. He had to admit that the contrast of the leather and Keith’s soft skin was a nice combination. It was yet another feeling he could attribute to only Keith. 

“So like, your place or mine?” he asked Keith playfully. 

Keith squeezed his hand a little too tight and Lance yelped. “Ow!” 

Keith smirked and said, “Mine. I have a feeling yours is littered with face cream and video games.” 

“Hey! I keep my room nice,” Lance protested. 

“Yeah sure,” Keith teased, rolling his eyes. 

They finally let go of each other’s hands when they got to Keith’s room. The door slid open and Keith didn’t even bother to turn on the lights. The light of distant stars through the window is enough for them to stumble over to the bed.

“So like...how do we,” Lance stuttered. 

Keith sat on the bed and kicked off his shoes. He then slipped his belt off and slid his knife out of the holster, putting it under his pillow. He looked up to find Lance staring at him. 

He threw him another grin. “Night time ritual. Let’s hope you don’t get stabbed,” he teased. 

“I sure hope not,” Lance replied while kicking off his own shoes. 

He slipped his jacket off and left it at the foot of Keith’s bed. Keith laid down and scooted over to the far side of the bed before pulling the covers over him. 

“Can I…?” Lance trailed off. 

“Unless you’d rather sleep on the floor, get over here before things get awkward,” Keith contended, a little of his signature hot-headedness slipping through. 

“Okay, okay,” Lance said. He crawled onto the bed and slipped under the covers.

Wow. Lance closed his eyes and pull the covers up to his nose. The bed really smelled like Keith, even after he had been gone for so long. Like sweat, and warmth, and just...Keith. Lance hadn’t felt this comfortable in a long time, maybe not since they had been back on Earth.

He opened his eyes and turned to his side to find that Keith’s eyes were still open. He was staring at the ceiling, hands folded over his stomach. Lance shifted and reached a hand over to Keith. Keith flinched but Lance continued, intertwining his fingers with one of Keith’s hands. 

“Sleep,” he said firmly. 

Keith turned to lay on his side and smiled at Lance, keeping their fingers intertwined. “I will,” he replied. 

Lance smiled when he finally closed his eyes. “Goodnight mullet,” he whispered. 

“Goodnight goofball,” Keith whispered back.

They both fell asleep quickly.


	2. Team Klance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron goes on a mission to find out information about Sendak, and Lance and Keith bond more, especially over the fact that Lance has a sword ;)

Morning rolled around, or at least, what the Castle considered morning. Space was still dark outside. Artificial lights illuminated in the halls and everyone started to wake up.

“Keith? Are you awake?” Krolia said as she opened the door to her son’s bedroom without knocking. “KEITH!” 

Sometime during the night Keith had turned his back to Lance and Lance had pulled Keith’s body to his, so that they were spooning. As soon as Krolia yelled the two boys jumped and Lance fell off the bed, dragging some of the sheet off with him. 

“Oww! Oh hey Keith’s m- I mean, Krolia, I mean, Ms. Krolia,” Lance stammered. He ran a hand through his bedhead. 

Keith turned around and faced his mom, cheeks turning red. “Mom it’s not what you think,” he immediately blurted out. 

Krolia took a deep breath before asking, voice strained, “Why was he in your bed?” 

“He was - we were - um, neither of us could sleep last night so we were talking and we ended up sleeping in the same bed,” Keith tried to explain. 

By this time, the rest of the team had heard Krolia’s shout and Lance and Keith could hear their murmurs outside the door. 

“Krolia, what’s going on?” Allura asked. 

“Alright. Well I’m glad you to found comfort in each other,” Krolia told her son. She nodded to Lance. “Thank you for taking care of him.” 

“O-of course,” Lance stuttered. 

Krolia’s eyes returned to her son. “I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said. And with that she turned around and left, both her and the voices outside disappearing. 

Keith and Lance both let out a breath. Lance looked up at Keith from the floor, staring for a moment. Then they both burst out laughing. 

“Gosh I forgot to think about your mom. She was totally going to check up on you in the morning,” Lance said. 

Keith giggled before replying, “Well it’s a good thing we didn’t sleep in your room. She would’ve turned the castle upside down looking for me.” 

The two let out another stream of laughs before settling down. Lance smiled. 

“I’m so glad you found her, Keith,” he said. 

Keith face dropped into one of soft surprise. Then he smiled again. “Yeah. Me too, Lance.” 

They said their goodbyes as Lance left Keith to get ready for the day in his own room. Thankfully, when Lance exited the room, no one was left outside. 

He sighed and leaned back against the door. He couldn’t believe that just happened. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to sleep well again unless...unless he was with Keith. 

***

By the time Lance arrived in the dining room, everyone was already seated at the table, minus Lotor. 

Lance took his usual seat next to Keith, saying a cheery, "Good morning!" to the table. 

Lance had to admit that things felt more complete with Keith there. They had left his seat empty, with no one wanting to feel like they were replacing him. 

True, it felt better. But things at the moment were also a little awkward with this morning’s discovery. Everyone poked at their food goo and some roots Hunk had found on the last planet.

Allura looked to Krolia at the end of the table. “How are you finding the castle, Krolia?” she asked.

“It’s a nice change from the Marmora bases,” Krolia answered simply. She snuck at a glance at her son. 

Pidge on the other hand, couldn’t contain her curiosity. Nor could she handle the tension. “So...how was last night?” she asked with a smirk. Her eyes flicked between Keith and Lance. 

“They don’t have to talk about it if they don’t have to,” Allura said. She threw Pidge a look. 

“In any case,” Shiro interjected. “You two should’ve let us know you were going to do that. If there were an emergency in the middle of the night, and we couldn’t find Lance, it would’ve slowed down the team.”

Lance’s eyebrows raised gently. Lance could tell that Keith noticed it too; it was like a cloudy flashed over his violet eyes. 

The other team members continued chattering until finally, Keith dropped his spoon with a small clink, and everyone turned him. 

“Look, Lance and I couldn’t sleep last night and we slept in the same bed. It’s not that big of a deal! Can we move on?” he fumed. 

Not that big of a deal? Lance repeated to himself. Did Keith really think that or was he just saying it? He didn’t know what to think.

“It’s all good, buddy,” Hunk reassured Keith. He looked to Keith with a kind smile, but Keith looked back down at the table. 

While the rest of the team averted their eyes and returned to their breakfast, Lance looked into Keith’s eyes again. He recognized the way his pupils quivered just slightly, like a flickering flame was hiding behind them. Lance wanted to reach over to him, ease the quiet anger away. But to Lance’s surprise, Keith took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to their calm, gray-purple. 

Lance smiled to himself. So the hothead is cooling down, eh? Keith was definitely still Keith, but Lance was starting to think that he had really grown while he was away, and for the better. Lance wondered if he had grown too. 

Allura stood up to address the whole table. “Anyways,” she began. “Lotor located one of Sendak’s old bases last night. We’re going to investigate it today to see if we can find any information on his whereabouts. It should be abandoned but we’ll still be cautious.” 

Shiro stood up as well, a stern look on his face. “How do you know that Lotor’s not just leading us into a trap?” he challenged. “And besides, where is he?” 

Allura frowned as she turned to Shiro. “He’s on the deck navigating a path to the base,” she explained. “I trust him Shiro. I believe his intentions are genuine. I wasn’t planning to take the whole team on the mission anyways, so some of us can keep an eye on the base from outside.” 

Shiro held her gaze for a few seconds before breaking away. “Alright team. Who are we taking on the mission, princess?” 

“I was thinking Pidge, Keith, Lance, Lotor, and myself. You, Hunk, Matt, and Coran can stay here,” Allura said. 

Shiro’s eyebrows raised then furrowed. “I think I should go and Lance should stay. I’m the team leader after all,” he argued. 

Lance’s eyes fell to the table. There Shiro went again, not including him with the team. 

To his surprise, Lance noticed Keith’s eyes on him and met his gaze. Lance saw the concern in his face again, eyebrows curved and mouth tense. Keith dipped his head, almost like he was saying, You alright?

Lance gave him a small smile before looking back up at Allura and Shiro. 

“Well I thought it might be helpful to have Lance’s weaponry on the mission, and to keep the Black Lion off of Galra property. Vigilante Galra may be after it after seeing Lotor use it at Kral Zera,” Allura explained, her quivering voice betraying her frustration.

Shiro looked to the side and crossed his arms. Then he turned back to address the team, without looking at Allura. “Okay. Everyone suit up,” he said. 

With that, everyone finished off their meals and left their plates and utensils stacked up in the middle of the table. 

***

Lance fell into step with Keith while everyone headed to the armory. It was a nice change from walking behind “Team Punk” and Matt. 

“So...are you gonna wear your paladin armor?” Lance asked Keith. 

“I kept it clean while you were away!” Hunk shouted, head turned back towards them. 

Keith grinned at Hunk. “Thanks buddy,” he said. 

Hunk turned back around and Pidge grinned up at him. 

Keith turned back to Lance, giving him a gentle smile. “Yeah. It’ll be like I’m part of the team again,” he said. 

“Hey, you were never not part of the team, I mean,” Lance stumbled. “When you were with the Blade you were still part of the team. You always will be.”

Keith chuckled and looked ahead to the armory. “Thanks Lance,” he said. “I hope you hear that too, though.” 

“Huh?” Lance’s eyebrows raised as he tried to read Keith’s eyes. 

“I remember that before I left you were questioning your place on the team. You belong here too, Lance,” Keith said, briefly looking at Lance from the corner of his eye.

Lance looked away and blushed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Thanks Keith,” he mumbled.

Keith smiled to himself and kept walking forward.

After everyone got into their armor, it was decided that Keith would ride with Lance in Red, and Lotor in Blue with Allura. Pidge decided to take her own lion because, “I’m not third-wheeling anyone.” That comment made the pairs give each other nervous glances. 

Lance and Keith climbed into Red, with Lance taking the pilot’s seat.

“It’s nice to be back, isn’t it?” Lance asked Keith. 

“Yeah,” Keith said. 

He reached up a hand to Red’s ceiling, and Red purred. “Haha. I think he likes you,” he commented.

Lance smiled back at Keith from the pilot’s seat. “Yeah. I think he missed you too.” 

He paused, looking at Red’s controls. “You sure you don’t want to drive?” he asked Keith. 

“Nah. You’re Red’s pilot now, Lance,” Keith told him, appearing behind Lance’s chair. 

Lance looked up into Keith’s eyes. They were familiar to him by now, but dazzled him every time he looked into them, especially with the softness of reassurance in them. 

Lance leaned forward. “Alright.” 

Red launched off.

Keith and Lance were silent as Lance focused on flying Red past some asteroids. 

“You’ve gotten better,” Keith remarked. 

“Hah. Are you implying I wasn’t good before?” Lance asked, only half-joking. He’s always admired Keith’s piloting skills, so a compliment from him meant a lot. 

“Well, you weren’t so great back at the Garrison,” Keith said. 

“Hey, I was a solid cargo pilot!” Lance protested. Keith chuckled in response. 

Then Lance realized something. “So you do remember me. Back at the Garrison,” he said. 

Keith paused. “Yeah I told you I remembered you. Though I mainly remember you glaring at me from the back of the room,” he teased.

“Pssh yeah, I kinda made up that rivalry, didn’t I?” Lance said, suddenly bashful about his competitiveness.

“You really did. At least we’re good now,” Keith replied. 

Lance couldn’t help but think to himself, What are we? But he didn’t want to ask Keith, at least not yet. 

After a few moments of silence, Lance frowned to himself. 

“Man, I don’t know what’s been up with Shiro. It seems like just a few hours ago he was totally on Lotor’s side. It’s like he trying to cause friction,” he told Keith. 

Keith kept his gaze forward, looking through the glass to the nearing Galra base.

Then he said, “We’ll figure it out, Lance. Together.”

Lances stole a glance at Keith and smiled to himself. He gripped Red’s controls and sped up as they approached the base.

***

Once inside the base, the team split up to investigate the bridge and the lower hallways. Pidge opted to join Keith and Lance in exploring the halls. 

“I still don’t trust Lotor,” she said. “I hope Allura’s right about him.”

Lance pursed his lips as they walked down the hallways. All three of them kept their bayards out just in case. Pidge walked ahead, referring to the hologram from her arm for guidance. 

“Oh Keith! I forgot to tell you. My bayard did a cool thing the other day,” Lance said. 

Lance activated his bayard, watching the light form into his Alrean broadsword. He swung it around experimentally. 

“Awesome right?” he said. 

When he turned to Keith, he found his eyes wide open. Lance smirked. 

“You good, buddy?” he teased. 

Keith shook his head slightly and kept walking forward. “Yeah,” he muttered. 

Lance deactivated his bayard and caught up with Keith. 

He leaned in to his ear and said, “It’s bigger than yours.” 

Keith’s expression froze for a moment before he shrugged. “Seems like you’re overcompensating,” he shot back. 

Lance froze too, momentarily unable to comprehend that he had just been roasted. He then burst out laughing. 

“Good one, Keith,” he complimented. 

Keith smirked back at him.

Pidge, Lance, and Keith searched through the few rooms of the lower hallways. 

“I don’t think there’s anything here, Pidge,” Lance said, after some time.

Pidge typed a final key into a computer and frowned at the empty results. “I don’t think so either. Let’s meet up with Allura and Loturd back at the bridge,” she replied. 

The two boys nodded and the three walked out of the room, back down the hallways. 

An automatic door whizzed open to the bridge. Allura was at the control panel, typing something in with her dexterous fingers. Lotor was examining something on the wall. 

Allura turned. “Hello paladins! I’m guessing you didn’t find anything?” she said. 

“Yeah. What about you?” Pidge asked. 

“I think I’m on to something but I could use your help,” Allura told her. 

Pidge saluted sarcastically. “Ace hacker at your service!” she said. 

While Pidge was helping Allura out, Lance headed over to Lotor. He seemed to just be staring at the wall. Lance squinted at the wall, then at Lotor. 

“Um hey Lotor. Watcha looking at?” he asked. 

Lotor kept his eyes trained on the wall. “I swear I sense something here,” he said. 

Lotor reached his hand out and touched the wall. As soon as his palm made contact, the wall, which turned out to be a hologram, blinked away, revealing unactivated Galra sentries. 

Lotor and Lance jumped back on instinct, Lance drawing his bayard and Lotor drawing Shiro’s black bayard. As soon as they drew their weapons, the sentries whirred to life and turned to them. 

“Guys, look out!” Lance yelled out to the others. 

He activated his standard gun and took aim at the sentries’ chests. Lotor immediately launched forward and started slicing through sentries. There were way more than there first appeared to be. They started spilling out into the bridge. 

Keith ran into action, drawing his blade and sliding under a sentry’s legs, chopping them off easily. 

Lance’s eyes grew wide, admiring Keith’s maneuver, but he forced himself to focus on the battle. He concentrated and switched his bayard to his broadsword. 

Allura abandoned Pidge at the control panel and activated her bayard whip. 

“Paladins! Watch Pidge’s back!” Allura called out.

Lance backed up to be nearer Pidge, right into something solid. He quickly turned to find himself face to face with Keith. His purple eyes were darker in the dim lighting, but they were still just as captivating. They stared at each other for a moment before Keith’s eyes darted away. 

“Lance, look out!” he yelled. 

Lance instinctually ducked as Keith stepped in front of him, deflecting a laser beam. 

Lance straightened up, and stood back to back with Keith. He realized that they were pretty much surrounded by sentries, but he wasn’t scared for some reason. 

“You ready, samurai?” Lance teased over his shoulder. 

“You bet,” Keith huffed. Then he launched forward. 

The two sliced and stabbed through the sentries on their side, making sure to deflect lasers away from each other. Lance was enjoying how fluid his broadsword felt in his hands, how the heft of the blade allowed him to cut through multiple sentries at once. Sure he might not have one “thing”, but he was him, and no one could replace him. Keith had helped him remember that, in just one day. 

He stole a few glances at Keith, observing his rapid-fire style of battling. Lance was a bit more stationary, stable. Lance thought it was an interesting balance. 

“Uh guys! I need one of you half-Galras over here! I think I need Galra ID for the last step,” Pidge called out. 

Lance scanned across the bridge and found Lotor and Allura on the other side of the room. 

He looked over his shoulder at Keith. “Keith, go! I’ve got you covered,” he told him. 

Keith met his gaze and nodded, before dashing through and under sentries. Lance followed, battling sentries as he went along. He watched Keith arrive at the control panel then felt a slight burn in his shoulder. 

“Ouch!” he yelped. 

He tore his gaze away from the control panel as he faced the sentry who shot him, and more. Gosh, Sendak and his cronies left a lot of sentries on this base. Lance thought to himself. He switched to his gun and shot down a few bolt buckets. 

Lance’s eyes flickered back to the control panel, where Keith had his hand on the screen now. Lance quickly noticed a sentry aiming for Keith. 

Oh heck no. Lance charged forward, switching his bayard back to his sword. 

“Keith!” he yelled.

Keith turned just in time to see Lance slice the sentry’s gun in half, before plunging his sword right into the sentry’s chest. 

Lance met Keith’s gaze, and he swore he saw Keith’s eyes soften, a small smile on his face. Lance couldn’t help but smile back, before he heard a metal clank behind him and returned to the battle. 

By the time Keith and Pidge joined the fight, most of the sentries were taken out. Keith surprisingly returned to Lance’s side. They finished off the last few robots with taut muscles and heavy breaths. 

The two were panting after the fight, but Lance turned to Keith and laughed breathlessly. 

Keith cracked a smile at him and asked, “What?” 

Lance shook his head and said, “I think...I think I missed fighting with you.” 

Keith’s face fell into one of surprise, his almond eyes wide, before he smiled again. “Me too,” he said simply. 

Lance withdrew his bayard and held his hand out to Keith like a handshake. “So like...Team Klance?” he said shyly. 

Keith’s head tilted and he asked, “What’s that?” 

Lance’s other hand flew behind his head and he looked away from Keith. “I mean, I was thinking that since Pidge and Hunk have Team Punk we could, like, have Team Klance? It’s our names combined,” he tried explaining. 

Keith’s eyes slanted and he frowned slightly. “You just added K to your name,” he deadpanned. 

The softness in Lance’s face disappeared as his hands fell to fists at his side and he shot back, “Hey I thought it was cool! You got a better idea?” 

Keith burst out laughing, catching Lance off-guard. Lance laughed nervously as well. 

“Gosh, you get worked up so fast,” Keith teased. 

Only with you, Lance thought to himself. 

Keith held his hand out to Lance like Lance did earlier. “How about...Team Laith?” he asked. 

Lance’s eyebrows curved upward, then he gladly took Keith’s hand. “Team Laith. I like it,” he said.

The two stayed like that for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes and holding hands. They realized what they were doing and let go as soon as they heard Allura’s voice. 

“Excellent work paladins, even if things got a little hectic. Have you got the intel, Pidge?” Allura said. 

Pidge tapped her wrist plate with a grin. “All stored, princess.” 

“Alright. Let’s head back to the Castle.”

The team nodded and headed out of the bridge. 

***

On the trip back, Lance and Keith were mostly silent, smiling to themselves. Occasionally one would say something to make the other laugh, or compliment the other’s fighting skills. 

“Are you like amphi - I mean - amo - can you use both hands? I swear I saw you fighting with both your hands,” Lance stammered, failing to remember the word he was trying to use. 

Keith laughed before replying, “Ambidextrous? Yeah I am. I can still only write with my left hand though.”

“That’s super cool,” Lance said. 

Keith smiled, and Lance almost flew into an asteroid staring at it. Red had his back, luckily, but he growled softly in Lance’s mind. 

Sorry buddy, he thought back, hoping Red could actually hear him. 

After the five returned to the team, Pidge, Hunk, and Matt headed off to decode the information. The rest of the team went their separate ways to relax. 

***

That night, Lance hardly lived through five minutes of tossing and turning before he decided he couldn’t sleep without Keith. He rolled over to sit at the edge of his bed, and was about to get up when he heard a metallic knock at his door. 

“Lance?” Keith’s muffled voice called out. 

Lance smiled. He guessed that Keith had had the same idea.

“Come in!” he said. 

His door whizzed open and there was Keith, in his signature black shirt and leggings, his figure illuminated by the artificial light from the hallway. 

He stepped inside and the door closed behind him. He glanced up at Lance before his gaze fell back down. 

“Do you wanna like...sleep together again?” he mumbled. 

“Yeah!” Lance said brightly. “I was just going to go to your room actually.” He laughed nervously. 

Keith finally looked up at Lance, who gave him a lopsided grin. 

“C’mon,” Lance said. 

He laid back in bed and scooted over to make room for Keith. 

Keith smiled softly and walked closer to sit at the edge of the bed. He pulled out his knife then paused, looking at Lance. 

“Is it okay if I..?” he trailed off. 

“Yeah, it’s totally fine. It’s like, your bedtime routine. Like how I have to put on face cream before I sleep,” Lance reassured, poking his soft cheek for emphasis. 

Keith giggled and Lance swore he had never heard a more adorable sound. 

Without further ado, Keith slipped his knife under the pillow and rolled into bed with Lance. Lance laid back on his hands, staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore his racing heart. 

“So like...you don’t have pajamas?” he asked after a moment. 

“No. I moved around so much on Earth, especially after I got kicked out, I just got used to sleeping in my clothes,” Keith replied. 

Part of Lance found that fact sad. Keith moved around so much that he never really planted roots. But Keith didn’t seem to be sad about it, so Lance brushed it off. 

“Oh shoot, what if they wonder where you are in the morning?” Lance recalled, slapping a hand over his forehead. 

Keith chuckled again. “Don’t worry, I left a note on my door,” he said. 

Lance turned on his side and looked at Keith, who was also staring at the ceiling. He wanted to pull Keith’s body to his and bury his nose in his dark hair and kiss his cheeks, but he knew he couldn’t. He could try something though. 

“Hey Keith...do you wanna spoon?” he asked carefully. 

Keith also turned on his side and Lance swore his heart stopped, having Keith this close. 

“What’s that?” Keith asked. 

Lance remembered that there were lots of things Keith wasn’t familiar with, cuddling seeming to be one of them. 

He laughed nervously. “We were doing it this morning…” he said. 

“Falling out of bed?” Keith asked, his eyebrows raising. 

“Haha, no silly. Before your mom came in,” Lance said. He sighed and looked away from Keith as he thought to himself. “It’s like where two people lay close together, one of them has their back to the other person’s chest, they’re the little spoon. The other person, the big spoon, holds the little spoon to them...It’s really comfortable. Sometimes I’d do it with my mom or my siblings when I was younger,” Lance finished wistfully. 

“Why do you want to do it with me then?” Keith said, voice lowered. 

Lance took a moment to be lost in Keith’s eyes, softly illuminated by the stars through the window. Why did he want to? Why did he want to do all these things with Keith?

Lance smiled. “Cause we’re good. That’s what you said earlier, right?”

Keith smiled back. “Yeah.”

He readjusted himself, pulling the sheets a little higher over his shoulders. 

“So are you going to be the little spoon or big spoon?” Keith asked. 

Lance leaned in closer. “Mm, it’s kinda nice to be the little spoon the first time. So I’ll be the big spoon.”

“Okay. Do I just, turn around or…”

Lance had to admit; Keith was cute when he was flustered. Instead of responding, Lance grabbed Keith’s shoulders and turned him around gently before pulling his body to his. 

“Oh. Okay…” Keith said. 

One of Lance’s arms was under Keith’s shoulder, the other laying on top of Keith’s arm. Lance loved that with their slight height difference, their legs still curled together but his nose was pressed to the top of Keith’s head. 

“You comfy?” Lance asked. 

“Yeah,” Keith replied. 

He leaned back into Lance’s chest just slightly, but it made Lance’s heart grow warmer. 

“Goodnight, Keith.”

“Goodnight, Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write fight scenes agh. I'm glad you guys seem to be enjoying the fic so far! It's turning out to be longer than I expected, but I'm still planning for three chapters. :)


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura announces that the team will be visiting Earth. Lance invites Keith to Cuba with him. Keith finds his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I finished! I worked really hard on this, so I hope you enjoy. :) I also hope my Spanish is accurate for the five years I've been studying it. So much fluff!!

Lance woke up before Keith, arms still wrapped around his body and nose buried in his hair. He smiled and pulled Keith closer, but Keith, being a light sleeper cracked his eyes open and looked back at Lance. 

“Morning,” he said simply. 

“Morning,” Lance replied, blush spreading across his cheeks. 

Keith rolled over to face Lance. “Did you sleep well?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Lance said with a smile. Better than ever, he thought to himself. 

“We should probably get up,” Keith said. 

“Yup,” Lance replied. 

Neither moved for a moment; they were just looking at each other. Keith broke the stare first and rolled out of bed. 

He retrieved his knife from under the pillow as Lance headed to the bathroom to start his morning skincare routine. 

Keith hesitated, standing in Lance’s room. Last night he wasn’t able to look at it properly, and he had never been in it before. The room was tidier than he expected, with Lance’s video game in the corner and some of his few possessions from Earth strewn on his bedside table. In any case, the room was still distinctly Lance.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Keith called out as he started to leave. 

Lance poked his head out of the bathroom, face lotion half-rubbed in. “Yeah, see you later, samurai,” he said, throwing Keith a pair of finger guns. 

Luckily Keith turned away quickly enough for Lance not to see him blush. 

***

“Good news, Paladins!” Allura stood at the head of the table with a bright look in her eyes. 

Everyone looked up from their food goo and at the princess. 

“Lotor and I looked into the coordinates that Pidge, Hunk, and Matt found,” she began, looking at Lotor, who was sitting at her side. Lotor smiled shyly and leaned on his hand, eyes still focused on her. 

“And it looks like for our next destination we’ll be passing by Earth,” she finished with a grin. 

Pidge, Matt, Hunk, and Lance lit up. Lance even stood up, his enthusiasm unable to be contained. 

“Do you really mean it, Allura?” he asked. 

Allura simply nodded. 

“Yeah! I’m coming home, Mamá!” he shouted, dancing around his chair. 

“I can see my parents! Oh boy, I hope my mom’s okay,” Hunk said. 

“We can see Mom again, Matt,” Pidge said to her brother. 

Matt ruffled his sister’s hair and added on, “And see how Dad is doing with gathering the coalition.”

“You paladins can visit your families for a few days while Lotor, Coran, and I work with this ‘Garrison’ you speak of,” Allura said. “Now do you humans have a king on your planet or..?”

Pidge, Matt, and Hunk laughed before attempting to explain the government of Earth. 

Lance noticed a look exchanged between Krolia and Keith. They had near-identical frowns, the silent sadness clearly shown in their eyes. After a moment, Keith broke off and left the table. 

Krolia raised her hand and opened her mouth, but Lance interjected, “I’ve got it, ma’am.”

Krolia gave Lance a nod before he stood up and followed Keith. 

Lance spotted Keith’s red jacket disappearing around a corner and jogged to catch up with his friend. 

“Hey, Keith! Wait up!” he called out. 

He found Keith around the corner, sitting next to the door of the training room and leaning against the wall.

Lance sat down next to Keith and put his hand on his shoulder without hesitation. “You alright?” he asked. 

Keith wouldn’t meet his gaze. He took a deep breath. 

“You know I don’t have family on Earth. I don’t know where my dad is and I don’t even know if I want to see him,” he said. He finally turned to Lance. “I’m glad you guys are going to be reunited with your families, but I guess I’ll be helping out at the Garrison. If they let me after I got kicked out, heh.”

Keith looked away again. Lance frowned at the floor, absentmindedly tracing circles on Keith’s shoulder. 

After a while, he got an idea. He smiled brightly but was still nervous to propose the idea to Keith. 

Lance shifted his arm to wrap around Keith’s shoulders. Keith jumped a little at the touch, but settled into it. 

Lance gave Keith a shy smile and said, “Hey Keith. Do you wanna...I don’t know, come with me to Cuba?” 

Keith looked a little dumbfounded, and Lance found it incredibly cute. 

“You...you want me to?” Keith asked.

Lance grinned. “Of course I do! That’s why I invited you in the first place, Mullet,” he teased.

Keith tilted his head as he looked at Lance. “What about your family? I’m sure they just want to see you.”

“You can meet them! And you can bring Krolia, I mean, your mom, too if you want,” Lance added on.

“I mean, are you sure? You know I’m not...the best with people,” Keith said.

“Don’t overthink it. C’mon, it’ll be fun! I’ll show you the Cuban life,” Lance said, throwing up a finger gun with his free hand. 

Keith looked away for a little, pursing his lips slightly as he thought. He turned back to Lance with a grin. 

“Okay...I’ll go,” he said. 

“Yes!” Lance exclaimed. 

Without thinking, he threw his arms around Keith and pulled him into a hug. Keith froze before leaning into a hug and resting his chin on Lance’s shoulder. His arms slid under Lance’s and around his back. 

All Lance felt at that moment was warm, from his racing heart to the tips of his fingers, toying with the ends of Keith’s hair. 

Take it easy, he reminded himself. He gently pulled back from the hug with a huge smile. He stood up and offered a hand to Keith. Keith took it and stood up. Neither let go of the other’s hand, almost by habit.

“I’ve got to tell you all the names of my relatives!” he said excitedly. “First off, there’s my mom, Claudia, but you should call her Ms. McClain at first. Then there’s my sister Veronica…” 

Lance continued rattling on about his family while he and Keith walked down the hallway, not really caring where they were going. They ended up in the lounge, waiting for Allura to tell them that Earth was closer. 

***

“Paladins, come to the Bridge!” Allura called out over the comms. 

All of the team members dashed over to the Bridge, greeted by a miraculous sight. 

Lance gasped as he saw before him what he feared he would never see again. Earth. It was still a ways away, looking to be the size of a baseball through the viewing window. But Lance could recognize the blue oceans, white clouds, and green grass that he missed so much. 

He felt tears begin to form at the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly, looking at the other paladins. 

Matt had picked up his sister, spinning her in a circle. Hunk came over and pulled them both into a crushing hug. Lance smiled at his friends. 

Then he felt a familiar hand on his back. He turned and found Keith, who was smiling at him gently. 

“We’re almost there,” he said. 

Lance leaned a little closer and muttered, “Yeah we are.” 

Keith turned back to the window, but Lance felt eyes on him. He looked back over at his friends and saw that Pidge, Hunk, and Matt were all making eyes at him and each other. Pidge caught Lance’s eye and raised her eyebrows, looking over at Keith. Lance glared at them before turning back to the window, watching Earth grow closer. 

***

The Castle touched down in Arizona, near the Galaxy Garrison. A crowd from the school had gathered to watch the alien ship land. They all cheered when the recognized the missing cadets, dropout, and two members of the Kerberos mission emerge from the Castle. Among the crowd, Pidge and Matt recognized their dad, whom they ran to greet. 

Lots of explanation, chiefly done by Allura, was made. She, Coran, Krolia, and Lotor were the wonder of the students and staff alike. 

Lance made his rounds, bragging to his former classmates. He made sure to drag Keith along with him, gushing about his achievements for him. Keith just smiled gently, a sight not many of the Garrison students were used to. 

After things settled down, the Paladins started splitting up. Sam Holt decided to visit his wife along with his kids; Hunk headed off in the Yellow Lion to return to Samoa. Keith hugged his mom goodbye, who decided to stay behind at the Garrison. He started following Lance to the Red Lion before he noticed Shiro standing by himself, his arms crossed.

He walked up to his friend with caution. “Shiro…? Are you going to visit your family?” he asked. 

Shiro didn’t even make eye contact with Keith. “No. The mission comes first. I’ll visit them when all this is over,” he said. 

Keith was taken aback by Shiro’s response. He opened his mouth as if to say something before mumbling a “bye” and returning to Lance. 

Lance had observed Keith’s interaction with his supposed “brother” and put his hand on Keith’s shoulder before they boarded Red. 

“Hey. Everything alright?” he asked. 

Keith met Lance’s gaze briefly before looking back at the ground. “Shiro’s just being odd. Let’s go.” 

Lance nodded before the two climbed into Red’s cockpit. 

***

Lance flew Red over to the beach near his house in the afternoon. His eyes lit up when he spotted his nieces and nephews playing soccer in front of their houses. Their little faces turned up to the sky when they saw the strange mechanical lion descending onto the beach. One of his nephews pointed at it and started shouting, causing Lance's siblings and mother to come outside as well. They looked at each other hopefully and in disbelief. 

By the time Lance landed, his family was gathered around Red. 

Lance turned back to look at Keith. His eyes were wide and his arms were crossed. He looked...nervous? 

Lance frowned. "Hey...do you want to stay behind for a little? I'll tell you when to come out," he said. 

Keith glanced at Lance before looking at Lance's family through the glass again. "Yeah," he said. 

Lance gave him a smile before clicking a button to open Red's mouth. Lance stood up and climbed out from Red's mouth. Upon recognizing him (and pinching themselves), Lance's family cheered. 

His mother ran forward to capture him in her arms. 

"Oh, mijo, I was so worried, we were so worried!" she exclaimed. 

Her hug was crushing, but Lance treasured the feeling of being back in his mother’s arms again.

She pulled back to look at him properly. "Look how you've grown. Tan guapo (So handsome)." she praised, combing through his hair with her fingers. 

Lance smiled and teared up. "Oh mamá, I've missed you all and home so much," he said. "Did you get my message?"

"Yes we did, but it's so much better to have you here," Claudia said. She pulled him into a quick hug again. 

"Oh Lance!" Veronica exclaimed. She ran forward and hugged her brother. "I'm so glad you're back."

The rest of Lance's family stepped forward to have their turn with Lance, including his nieces and nephews, who all tackled him to the ground. "Never leave us again!" they cried out. 

"Oh, you've all grown so much!" Lance exclaimed, looking at each still-familiar face.  
They grew up without me, Lance thought to himself sadly. 

Lance's siblings pulled their kids off of Lance and let him stand up. Then Lance remembered Keith. 

He smiled shyly and said, "Hey guys, there's someone I'd like you to meet." He turned back to Red and called out, "Keith!"

Keith cautiously emerged from Red's mouth and gravitated to Lance's side. 

Lance put a gentle hand on Keith's back and said, "Guys, this is Keith. He's one of my teammates, and I invited him to come back home with me."

Lance's family stared wide-eyed for a little, eyes flickering between Lance and Keith. Then they all burst out at once. 

"¿Es tu novio? (Is he your boyfriend?)" one of his nephews asked. 

"Es muy guapo (He’s very handsome)," Veronica said, wiggling her eyebrows at Lance. 

"Son tan preciosos (You guys are so cute)," Claudia gushed. 

Lance blushed at the comments but quieted them with a shout. "¡No es mi novio! (He’s not my boyfriend!)" 

Everyone stopped talking but Veronica and his nieces and nephews kept giggling. 

"Entonces, ¿puede quedarse? (So, can he stay?)" Lance asked his family. 

"Claro que sí, mijo (Of course, my son)," Claudia told her son, rubbing his shoulder affectionately. 

"Pero, no tenemos un cuarto extra, entonces… (But we don’t have an extra room, so…)" Veronica teased. 

Lance's eyes went wide before he scowled at his sister. She laughed and punched his shoulder playfully. 

"Is this a good time to tell you I don't speak any Spanish?" Keith asked. 

Lance's family turned to Keith and laughed. Keith was surprised for a moment before he started laughing as well. Lance's eyes softened at the sight and sound of Keith's laugh, and most of his family members noticed. They looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. 

"Sorry, mijo," Claudia told Keith. "We'll try to speak en inglés (in English)."

Lance leaned over to Keith and whispered, "Mijo is a term of endearment by the way."  
Keith's eyebrows raised, then he looked at the ground. "Thank you, Ms. McClain," he said. 

"Oh call me Claudia," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

Keith smiled and met Claudia's eyes. They were the same deep blue shade as Lance's. He found her smile comforting.

"Alright, let's start working on dinner everyone!" Claudia called out. 

Some family members cheered while others groaned. They all headed back toward the house, Claudia's arm around Keith. Lance smiled, following closely behind the two. 

***

Once inside, everyone dispersed to take different jobs, but Claudia pulled Lance and Keith aside. 

"You can rest, mijo," she told her son. "Show Keith your room and get settled in. We left it alone while you were gone." There was an unspoken sadness behind the last comment, but Claudia eased it away with another grin at her son.

The thought of having Keith in his room made Lance a little nervous. "Are you sure you don't need help in the kitchen?" he asked his mom. 

Claudia sensed his worry and patted his shoulder. "We'll be fine! Just come out for dinner when we call," she said. She leaned closer to her son's ear and added, "Portese, mijo (Behave yourself).”

Lance blushed again as his mom pulled back with a smile. "Welcome to Cuba, Keith!" she said to Keith. With that, she turned and entered the kitchen, immediately calling out orders in Spanish. 

"Alrighty then. Let's go," Lance told Keith. 

Keith nodded and Lance led him down the hallway to his bedroom. Lance hadn’t anticipated that he would even miss the feeling of carpet beneath his feet. 

He sighed as he opened his door, taking in the familiar scent of clean linen and a hint of the ocean. He was in a bit of a trance as he walked into his room, hardly believing he was back. He spun in a slow circle, looking at the walls covered in the same pictures and posters, including one of the Galaxy Garrison with his acceptance letter pinned beneath it. 

Lance found the same beach view through his window and opened it to let the breeze in. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

He turned back to Keith, who was still standing in the doorway with his small duffel bag on his shoulder. Lance smiled and said, "Come here."

Keith stepped into the room and set his bag down by the door before joining Lance at the window. He sighed, feeling the sea breeze on his face. 

Lance looked at him, a small smile on his face. "This is home," he said simply.  
Keith met Lance's gaze and nodded.

Keith’s eyes wandered around the room. “This room is just...so you,” he commented. 

Lance chuckled and sat on the bed. “What makes you say that?” he asked. 

“I don’t know...the blue walls, the glow stars,” Keith rambled, looking at the glow stars on the ceiling. “The shells, the view, the smell.” 

Lance smirked at that last point. “Gosh, you seem to know me quite well, mullet,” he teased. 

To Lance’s surprise, Keith gave him a soft look and muttered, “I’d like to think so.” 

Lance froze, keeping Keith’s purple-gray stare. The silence was comfortable. But Lance broke it with a grin. 

He laid back on the bed and exclaimed, “Gosh, it feels so nice to be back in my own bed!”

Keith chuckled and walked over to sit at the edge of Lance’s bed. Lance closed his eyes and Keith stared at his face for a little. Then he laid back and Lance, sensing the slight bounce, opened his eyes and found Keith next to him, laying on his wrists and staring up at the glow stars. Lance folded his hands on his stomach and stared up at the ceiling too. 

After a while, Keith spoke. “I’ve stayed in so many different places that I don’t think I have a bed. I know that sounds weird, but you know what I mean right? You say it’s nice to be back in your own bed but I don’t know what that’s like. I don’t have a home. I really don’t.” 

Keith’s confession stirred something in Lance. He frowned and turned on his side to face Keith. 

He took a deep breath before speaking. “I know that home is something you find, but Keith, this can be your home. My family would welcome you like one of their own. We understand the importance of a home and what that means.” 

Keith turned on his side to meet Lance’s eyes. If Lance wasn’t mistaken, Keith’s eyes were glassy. 

He continued, “So when all this is over, no matter where you go in the world, or the universe, you always can come back here.” 

Keith blinked, and a singular tear spilled from the corner of his eye, trailing down his cheek. But he smiled at Lance and nodded. Lance smiled back and wiped the tear from Keith’s cheek. 

“My door will always be open to you,” he said softly. 

Keith realized how close they were and stared at Lance wide-eyed. Lance’s heartbeat picked up and his eyes widened as well. Is this it? he thought to himself. Oh my God, ay Dios mio...

“¡Lancito!” his mom’s voice yelled from down the hallway. “¡La cena está lista!” 

Lance practically launched out of the bed and onto his feet, “Well, we better go!” he said forcefully. 

Keith sat up as well but stared at the floor. 

I gotta do something to break the awkwardness, he thought to himself. 

He thought of something. He grinned at Keith and said, “Race ya to the dinner table.” 

Keith looked up and met his smirk. Then they both dashed out of Lance’s bedroom door. 

***

“Wow, dinner was amazing, Mamá!” Lance declared. He leaned back in his seat and patted his belly. “Your moros y cristianos are better than ever, Veronica.” (traditional Cuban dish of rice and beans)

“Only the best for my little bro,” Veronica said. She walked behind Lance to ruffle his hair. She looked across the table to Keith, who was looking a little overwhelmed. 

“What’d you think of dinner, Keith?” she asked him. 

Keith jumped a little, surprised at being addressed. “Oh, it was great, thank you. I’ve never had food like this,” he said. 

Veronica laughed and Keith immediately thought it was at him. He shrunk in his seat. 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Keith,” she said. “I hope you’re feeling at home.” 

Keith relaxed at her friendly tone and smiled. “Yeah, I am.” 

Lance smiled watching the interaction between Keith and his sister. It made him feel inexplicably warm inside to see two people so close to him getting along. 

Veronica caught Lance’s smile and elbowed him, throwing him a wink. Lance glared back, but she laughed again and ignored it. 

“I’m about to put on some music, Lance. Still got salsa in you after all that time in space?” she said. 

Lance jumped to his feet. “Heck yes! C’mon, Keith!” 

Lance ran outside to the front lawn with Veronica, with Keith following along cautiously. 

Some members of Lance’s family were already outside, chatting amongst themselves. Veronica placed a radio on a patio table and clicked the play button. Lance’s family members cheered and started to pair up.

Lance stepped into a salsa basic and swayed his hips.

“Aww yeah! I missed this,” Lance said. 

He turned around and looked at Keith, who was standing at the edge of the crowd, a little bit of worry painted on his face. Lance grinned and extended a hand towards him. 

“Wanna dance?” he asked, confidence faltering as he worried that Keith would say no. 

Keith glanced at his hand before looking back into his eyes. 

“I don’t know how,” he mumbled. 

“I’ll show you how,” Lance told him. “Please?” 

Keith faltered for a moment longer before returning Lance’s smile. “Okay.” 

He let Lance grab his hand and pull him onto the makeshift dance floor. Lance gently placed one of Keith’s hands on his shoulder and the kept the other in his hand. He hoped Keith didn’t notice his hands trembling slightly, especially as he placed one on Keith’s hip and pulled him closer. 

“Woah,” Keith breathed out, realizing how close he was to Lance. 

Lance held his gaze before smirking, causing Keith to throw him a signature Keith Kogane glare. Then, Keith rolled his eyes and eased back into a gentle smile. 

Lance’s heart was thrumming in his chest, faster than the tempo of the music. 

“So just, follow me. Like, when I step forward, you step back, got it?” he explained. 

Keith nodded. “Yeah,” he affirmed. 

Lance found the determination in Keith’s eyes and tense eyebrows adorable. He counted off in his head and stepped forward with his right foot, easing into a simple dance. 

He felt a blush spreading across his cheeks and tried to focus on the steps rather than Keith’s focused face. It looked like he were going into battle rather than a dance. It was so cute --no. 

Left foot back, right foot forward, don’t hold his hand too tightly, Lance thought to himself. 

Keith followed along surprisingly well; he just seemed a little stiff still. Lance smiled again and stepped forward, lifting his hand to spin Keith this time. Keith seemed to take the cue and let Lance spin him around. Lance caught him by his waist with ease and leaned forward, dipping him slightly. He watched Keith’s eyes widen, his face just a few inches from his. Lance held him there, smiling at his surprised expression. Then Keith broke out into laughter. Lance beamed and pulled Keith back up for more steps. 

They were off-beat now, but Lance didn't mind one bit. He and Keith swung around the lawn, laughing and spinning and smiling at each other. They almost bumped into Lance’s relatives, but Lance maneuvered them well. His family members couldn’t help but grin at the pair. 

Once they started panting for breath, Lance pulled Keith off the dance floor, still laughing. 

Keith bent over to catch his breath through chuckles, but Lance noticed the change in the sky’s hue and shouted, “Oh shoot! Keith, we gotta go!” 

He grabbed Keith’s hand and dragged him away from the house. 

“Lance, where are we going?” Keith asked, still giggling. 

“You’ll see,” Lance replied. He smiled back at the boy he was leading along.

***

Lance led Keith to a more secluded section of the beach, both of them with ice cream cups in hand now. They sat down where the grass met the sand and stared at the sun setting over the ocean. 

“I can’t believe you got vanilla. You’re so boring,” Lance teased. 

“Hey, I like vanilla!” Keith shot back. “It’s probably better than your dulce de whatever.” 

“Dulce de leche,” Lance corrected. “And it’s delicious. Cuban speciality.” 

“Yeah sure,” Keith said. Despite his sarcasm, he couldn’t keep the fondness from his voice. 

The boys finished up their ice cream and set their cups down to the side. 

Lance sighed. “God, I missed this,” he said wistfully. 

Keith shifted his gaze from the sunset to Lance’s tan face, glowing golden in the lighting. “I can understand why,” he murmured. 

Lance noticed Keith looking at him and smirked at him. “What are you looking at?” 

“You,” Keith said, his expression still serious.

Lance was taken aback by his honesty. He panicked and looked at the ocean again. 

“Lance…” Keith said, a desperate tone in his voice. 

Lance forced himself to meet Keith’s gaze, despite his pounding heart and reddening cheeks. Keith leaned in and crept his hand closer to Lance’s. 

“Lance, I--” he started. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. He seemed to be choking on his words. “I--” 

Lance prayed he was reading this right, that he had been reading everything right. He felt like he already knew what Keith was trying to say, but he was still scared he was wrong. 

“Lance, it scares the shit out of me, but...I think I love you,” Keith said, finally letting the words fall out of his mouth. He looked up into Lance’s eyes hopefully. 

Lance’s eyes went wide as he stared back at Keith. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to say something right, but his throat was dry. 

“Lance, please don’t tell me there’s nothing here, please-” 

Lance cut Keith off with a kiss. He brought his hand up to cup Keith’s cheek. The kiss was tight-lipped and tense, but so relieving. Lance felt like a sigh left his body as he leaned into Keith. 

Lance pulled back but kept Keith close, stroking his cheek with his thumb. 

“I love you too, Keith,” he whispered. 

Keith smiled at Lance, then he started laughing. Dry and short at first, like he was still in disbelief. Then he burst into a stream of laughter, Lance’s laughter bubbling up to join his. Keith held onto Lance’s shoulders and pulled him closer so they were forehead to forehead. 

Their laughter died down and they shifted to rest their foreheads against each other’s comfortably. Lance stared fondly at Keith’s still-smiling face and wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck. Keith settled down and stared into Lance’s eyes. His gaze flickered down to his lips. He started to lean in. Lance spoke just before their lips touched.

“Softer this time,” he muttered. 

Before Keith could say anything to protest, Lance closed the gap between them and kissed him again. He felt like he could kiss Keith forever. He smiled into the taste of vanilla and warmth and lips and just Keith. The way their lips moved together made him feel light-headed. He pulled back for air but kept his forehead against Keith’s. They were both catching their breath. 

“Was that your first kiss?” Lance asked Keith. 

“Yeah,” Keith said. “I’m glad it was with you.” He smiled at Lance again. 

Lance smiled back and said, “Me too.” 

At that point Keith had to pull back. “Wait, that was your first kiss?” 

Lance smiled shyly and said, “Yeah…and I’m happy it was with you.” 

Keith grinned and pulled Lance into a hug. 

“I guess you’re a terrible flirt then,” he muttered into Lance’s ear. 

“Hey!” Lance shouted. He pulled back from Keith with a glare.

Keith punched Lance’s chest playfully and laughed. Lance couldn’t keep his offended face for long. He settled back into a smile. 

“C’mere,” he said. 

He wrapped an arm around Keith and pulled him closer. Keith put his head on Lance’s shoulder and leaned on him. Lance kissed Keith’s forehead, covered by his bangs, almost instinctually. Keith hummed and cuddled closer. 

The two stared at the setting sun, which was now just a sliver above the ocean. 

“God, I love you,” Lance said. This time he said it like it was a fact, just a simple truth. He turned to press his nose to Keith’s forehead and said it again. “I love you.” 

Keith smiled. “I love you too. Now don’t wear it out.” 

Lance chuckled softly and leaned his head on top of Keith’s. 

“Y’know,” Keith started. 

Lance turned to look at him properly. Keith shyly glanced at him before looking back at the sunset. 

“You said Cuba could be my home, but I think I found home somewhere else,” he said. 

Lance didn’t quite get what he was hinting at. “What do you mean?” he asked. 

Keith smiled right at Lance and put a hand on his chest. 

“You’re my home, Lance,” he said. 

Lance’s eyes went wide then he nuzzled into Keith’s shoulder, blushing. 

“Keeeeith,” he whined. “You’re gonna kill me if you keep talking like that.” 

Keith laughed and pet Lance’s hair. 

“It’s true though,” he said softly. 

Lance shifted to hug Keith close to his chest. He sighed as he felt Keith’s heartbeat thrumming against his own.

Lance wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. He wasn’t sure how the war was progressing, how the universe was doing, how Earth humans were reacting to the news of a space war. But he felt sure in that moment. He felt at peace, accepted, loved. And that was all he needed. 

He nuzzled his nose into Keith’s hair and hoped that that was all he needed too.


End file.
